05/15/2025

It was a flurry of activity around the exhibit space for ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio[1]¨ and beyond.ÿTrucks being unloaded, tables being arranged, boxes being opened and even tablecloths being ironed were among the sights and sounds Thursday at Ohio's Greene County Fairgrounds as hundreds of ham radio manufacturers, retailers, clubs, and organizations prepared for Friday's opening of the 2025 Dayton Hamvention¨. To the eye, it was organized chaos, but the word we heard most frequently among vendors and visitors was "anticipation."

VIDEO: See the exhibits being setup[2] [YouTube]

Inside Exhibits volunteer Rob Lindsay, W5MRL, drew a mental picture for us. "Early in the day," he said, "there's a flurry of activity from hundreds of vendors setting up their booths in anticipation of all the visitors they'll see on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We're already seeing visitors from around the world, including Japan, the UK, Germany and Italy. As a volunteer, it's interesting and great to give back to the hobby, but the most important part is interacting with the visitors and vendors, and making their visit enjoyable."

ARRL Great Lakes Division Director Scott Yonally, N8SY, said some of the chaos is internal. "You know in your mind how you want it to set up but then you get here and say `I can do this' or `I can do that.' You have to be flexible to make changes while staying true to your basic plan. It's utter chaos."

But for major exhibitors, it's all part of a well-oiled process. Ham Radio Outlet President Robert Ferrero, W6RJ, said that setup day is "the culmination or a 2-to-3-month process of planning and hard work. This is just 5-to-6 hours of finalizing all that hard work. We're fortunate that we have a great team to make it all happen."

Lori Hicks of FlexRadio noted that "We come in as early as Tuesday. We look forward to setup time, which leads up to the excitement of the opening of the show. It's more than just setting up our booth, it's thinking of how our customers will interact with us. There are always weeks of preparation before the event." She added, "Dayton, for us, is THE venue to do new product announcements. We hope to come out with a successful new product launch. Also, the opportunity to meet with customers. It's all about relationships."

New products were also on the mind of Icom America National Sales Manager Ray Novak, N9JA. "The biggest thing at the show for us is having the IC-7760 functional for the first time," he said. "We're demonstrating it with the PW-2 amplifier with remote software so you can run a kilowatt from anywhere in the world where you have an internet connection."

Finally, DX Engineering Sales Manager Scott Jones, N3RA, was also focused on new additions to their lineup, along with something much bigger. "Setup has gone really well," he said, "with lots of new products ... We're also pleased to have the `Roamin' Gladiator' with us, fully equipped and on display." He's referring to a customized Jeep with radios for various services but focusing on amateur gear.

Doors open at 9 o'clock Friday morning.

ARRL News will feature daily coverage from 2025 Dayton Hamvention.



[1] http://www.arrl.org
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi0Pe11UxMQ

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þ Synchronet þ Whiskey Lover's Amateur Radio BBS

05/16/2025

Friday was opening day at 2025 Dayton Hamvention[1]¨ and it was a day of superlatives - huge crowds coming through the gates, standing room only at "Salty Walt" Hudson's portable antenna forum, and more as hams from across the country and around the world descended on the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia, Ohio for the first of three days of total immersion in all things ham radio.

At the many booths that make up the ARRL Expo area, crowds were constant, and sentiments were similar among the employees, board members, and volunteers who staffed them. ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA, was in the meet and greet area and talked with ARRL members nearly non-stop the whole day.

ÿ

At the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES¨) booth, ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, said "It's busy. I love it! Hamvention is an awesome opportunity to talk to hams, find out what's going on in the field, and share ideas," adding, "It's a unique opportunity to hear about problems and successes and try to help get issues resolved." He also noted that informal conversations with influential visitors can often have far-reaching benefits.

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Across the aisle at the ARRL Foundation booth, Development Operations Manager Christine Lessard, KC1TDM, said she "enjoyed connecting with clubs that have received club grants and answering questions about scholarship programs." Lessard added that "It's exciting to talk about all the good that the Foundation does for the amateur radio community."

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Development Director Kevin Beal, K8EAL, noted that the Diamond Club has been especially exciting this year because of the ARRL Sweepstakes for an Icom dream station[2] and that a Diamond Club donation results in an automatic sweepstakes entry. He also pointed out that donors to the ARRL Spectrum Defense Fund receive a special mug and pin, adding that "It's never been more important to protect our spectrum."

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The ARRL Lab booth had a steady stream of visitors who wanted to see if their handheld radios were up to FCC specs on spurious signal suppression. Engineers Rick Ciervo, W1CIE; John McAuliffe, W1DRF, and Matthias Zapatka, AJ4BB, had tested nearly four dozen radios by midday. Their favorite test radio today was an Icom ID-50 that had been accidentally dropped 14,000 feet and not only survived the fall in working condition but still passed the spectral purity test. Overall, noted McAuliffe, "It was nice to have one-to-one with members who don't normally have direct contact with the lab."

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The ARRL Youth Lounge was busy all day, and "the kids were loving it," according to Education and Learning Manager Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, who pointed out that the young visitors were building code keys from 3D-printed kits and testing them out by sending messages. Saturday will feature a Youth Rally with multiple activities. There is also a raffle for young hams, sponsored by DX Engineering, Gigaparts, Chatt Radio, Zumspot, and Begali Keys.

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There were also meet-ups with book authors, including Repeater Book's Garrett Dew, KD6KPC, whose data now "powers" the ARRL Repeater Directory, and Salty Walt's Portable Antenna Sketchbook author "Salty Walt" Hudson, K4OGO, whose book-based forum earlier in the day had drawn a standing-room-only crowd.

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"What you saw in that forum," said Hudson, "is where hams are today. What I try to do is simplify things. Go out, try, do, make mistakes. That's what my YouTube channel[3] is all about."

ÿ

Hamvention 2025 continues on Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM. ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio¨ will provide daily coverage at www.arrl.org[4].

ÿ


[1] http://www.hamvention.org
[2] https://www.arrl.org/arrl-sweepstakes
[3] https://www.youtube.com/@COASTALWAVESWIRES
[4] http://www.arrl.org

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þ Synchronet þ Whiskey Lover's Amateur Radio BBS

05/17/2025

By: Rich Moseson, W2VU

What do the Dayton Hamvention¨ flea market and Xenia, Ohio, weather have in common? They each offer a little bit of everything! Friday's hot and humid afternoon was followed by thunderstorms at night and cool, windy, weather on Saturday. The Hamvention itself, though, provided consistently positive experiences for just about everyone. ARRL activities were highlighted by the member forum in the morning and the Youth Rally in the afternoon.

WATCH: Video from Saturday at Hamvention[1] [YouTube]

At the member forum, ARRL leadership was represented by Great Lakes Division Director Scott Yonally, N8SY; First Vice President Kristen McIntyre, K6WX, and CEO David Minster, NA2AA, as well as Director of Marketing and Innovation Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R.

Minster's topics included the very successful ARRL Ham Radio Open House program, the growing interest among many amateurs in remote operating, and the current threat to our HF bands from stock trading businesses that are experimenting with using HF for high-speed data transmissions. He said ARRL might need to call on members down the road to contact their Congressional representatives to help protect amateur frequencies. On a more positive note, Minster also discussed the DXCC Trident, which he described as an extension of the DXCC program to offer a new award for working at least 100 DX entities on voice, CW and digital modes.

Inderbitzen's comments focused on young hams, pointing out the free youth membership approved by the ARRL Board of Directors in 2024, and the need to increase the visibility of young people in amateur radio. "The next generation of amateur radio is already here and active," he said, but is often unseen by the broader ham radio community.

A highlight of the ARRL member forum was the presentation by Director Yonally of the Great Lakes Division's George S. Wilson, III, W4OYI, Lifetime Achievement Award to former Division Director Dale Williams, WA8EFK. According to Yonally, Williams worked his way up the ranks of the ARRL Field Organization from Assistant Emergency Coordinator in his hometown of Dundee, Michigan, to Section Manager before being elected Division Vice Director and then Director in 2014. As Director, he was one of the guiding lights behind the establishment of the Board's third standing committee, the Emergency Communications and Field Services Committee. Yonally says Williams continues to be very active on the air, in local ham radio organizations and in his community. The award is named for former
ARRL President George Wilson, W4OYI (Silent Key), who came from the Great Lakes Division.

Back at the ARRL Expo area, ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, reported a steady flow of ARRL Volunteer Examiners and prospective VEs wanting to learn more about the transition to an all-digital exam system; members renewing their licenses, and getting information on the ARRL Youth Licensing Program, which covers the $35 FCC licensing fee for new licenses and license upgrades for young people under age 18.

ARRL Field Services Manager Mike Walters, W8ZY, and "Marconi" program founder Ed Snyder, W1YSM, said the Hamvention was providing a "soft launch" of the Marconi program, which encourages very active clubs to mentor less-active clubs on ways to build up both activities and membership. In addition, said Walters, "there was considerable interest in club activity programs and in helping members become more radio-active."

There was quite a bit of radio activity at the ARRL Youth Rally, with some two dozen young people learning about parachuting with a ham radio handheld, going on a foxhunt to find a hidden transmitter and trying to make contacts via amateur satellites.

ARRL author Glen Popiel, KW5GP, had a full house for his forum on the basics of using microcontrollers in amateur radio projects, and a steady line of readers later on, looking for his autograph on one of his two recent books, Best of Arduino Projects for Ham Radio and More Arduino for Ham Radio.

There was similar interest in different activities outside the ARRL Expo area. Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) President Bdale Garbee, KBOG, said "It's been at least 15 years since I've been to Hamvention and I'm really pleased to see how much enthusiasm is still here." He continued, "There are so many people wanting to talk to me about what they've done and what we're doing and where they might intersect. I'm really enthusiastic."

ARDC Executive Director Rosy Schechter, KJ7RYV, said she was pleased that more people seem to recognize ARDC and know what it is than at past Hamventions, and that she was "getting the community vibe" from attendees.

HamSCI Coordinator Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, said this year's show was great and that people are quite interested in the group's projects, such as the Personal Space Weather Station and HamSCI's new Meteor Scatter QSO Party[2] coming up later this year. "It's very lively," he said. "I've gotten to talk with people from all over... I want visitors to know they can use amateur radio to explore the world around us, and I want them to know that what we're doing as scientists can enhance the amateur radio hobby."

Two University of Scranton students who were part of the HamSCI team reflected on their impressions as first-time visitors to Hamvention. "I am fairly new to amateur radio," said senior and physics major Rebecca Potter, KE2EBI, "and this is a good opportunity to walk around and see everything," noting that she was looking for her first handheld." The people, she added, "are all very nice. They're all interested in talking about their hobby and passing it along to younger people."

Computer science sophomore Owen Ruzanski, KD3ALD, agreed. "Everybody is super nice," he said, "always willing to share their knowledge and help you get into the journey of ham radio."

The final day of Hamvention is Sunday, from 9 AM to 1 PM.


[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7RdcYKD8Cw
[2] http://hamsci.org/msqp

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þ Synchronet þ Whiskey Lover's Amateur Radio BBS

05/18/2025

By: Rich Moseson, W2VU

Closing day at 2025 Dayton Hamvention¨ is a half-day on the clock, but for the team from ARRL[1]ÿThe National Association for Amateur Radio[2]¨, it was a full day of activities packed into a shorter period of time. There were four forums to lead - the "ARRL FCC Update" with Monitoring Program Director and former FCC Special Counsel Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH; "ARRL Youth Outreach Through STEM," anchored by Education and Learning Manager Steve Goodgame, K5ATA; the "ARRL Radiosport Forum - Level Up!", led by Radiosport and Field Services Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ; and Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KF5MHV, moderated "ARES - Building Relationships in Public Service."

Johnston noted as examples of these relationships the fact that the heads of both Army and Air Force MARS were in the audience, while Hollingsworth urged amateurs to operate with courtesy and respect, and to "stay off the radar screen" of those who don't understand amateur radio but may have influence over frequency allocations. He also reminded his audience that "there is no one representing amateur radio before the FCC except ARRL."

Outside the forum rooms, about half of the two dozen young hams who had participated in Saturday's Youth Rally returned to make brief 2-meter contacts with skydiver Carlos Ortiz, K9OL, as he parachuted to the ground from an altitude of 14,000 feet; and then to launch an APRS-equipped micro-balloon - transmitting as W1AW-11 - on a hopefully long-distance flight. (At the time of this writing on Sunday afternoon, it was making its way eastward across Virginia.)

Finally, when all the forums, jumps, and launches were over, it was time for the entire ARRL team to pack up the dozen or so booths in the ARRL Expo and say goodbye to Hamvention until next year.


[1] http://www.arrl.org
[2] http://www.arrl.org

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þ Synchronet þ Whiskey Lover's Amateur Radio BBS